By the time Duke Nukem Forever actually came out, the fervor with which fans had been clamoring for it for more than a decade had all but died out. We'd thrown in the towel, bit the bullet, and admitted to ourselves that Duke had likely fired his last. He'd moved on to a more badass place, where the cigars are rolled with money, the strippers never quit, and you never, ever have to stop to reload your minigun.

Until Gearbox stepped in to resurrect a game fifteen years in the making, and in doing so, confirmed our worst fears: There was a reason Duke Nukem Forever had been delayed so many times. Simply put, it wasn't very good. That was, if anything, an even worse fate for our misogynistic cliché of a hero. And the irony is that while we were wishing for this disappointing sequel, countless games came and went that are much more deserving of a follow-up. Here are the ten games that deserved sequels far more than the Duke ever did.

System Shock 2 (1999)

Though we may be loath to admit it these days, EA may have actually done a good thing when they signed on as publisher to Irrational Games's in-progress title and shoehorned it into the System Shock universe. As the predecessor to BioShock, Ken Levine's other FPS/RPG hybrid series, System Shock 2 was way ahead of its time, and it set a benchmark for genre mash-ups and sci-fi games in general.

Though we may be loath to admit it these days, EA may have actually done a good thing when they signed on as publisher to Irrational Games's in-progress title and shoehorned it into the System Shock universe. As the predecessor to BioShock, Ken Levine's other FPS/RPG hybrid series, System Shock 2 was way ahead of its time, and it set a benchmark for genre mash-ups and sci-fi games in general.

MDK 2 (2000)

As long as we're talking about reviving old shooter franchises, it's a crime not to mention MDK. The first two games in the series had some of the funniest stories in gaming, and at a time when plenty of games (especially shooters) struggled to have any story at all. Designed by BioWare, believe it or not, MDK 2 had players take control of a mad scientist, a reluctant janitor, and a six-legged robotic dog. Their mission? To save Earth from the alien Shwang Shwing and his leader, Emperor Zizzy Ballooba, ruler of the planet Swizzle Firma.

Wouldn't it be a relief to play something in today's gaming climate that dares to not take itself so seriously? MDK 2 has been revisited and re-released on PS2, WiiWare and PC, so there are obviously enough people who still love the game today to warrant another sequel.

You can't help but love the world of Mirror's Edge, regardless of what you think of the game itself. The stark, sterile lines and colors perfectly embody the washed-out culture of the game's Orwellian society. At the same time, that clean aesthetic contrasts sharply with the ugly turmoil bubbling just under the surface. It's highly compelling.

The gameplay mixes parkour with combat, and the former element is as awesome as the latter is half-baked. It's the perfect formula for a sequel; much like Assassin's Creed, it wouldn't be difficult to improve upon. And the ending left a lot of room for more. We've got our fingers crossed for this one still.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002)

Eternal Darkness was one of the few really standout titles on the GameCube, but boy did it stand out. Atmospheric, action-packed, effectively unnerving—it even featured a sanity meter that played tricks on your mind, including making you think that your game, system, or TV was malfunctioning.

The fear that you felt while playing manifested in an actual game mechanic, thus multiplying that fear and adding another layer to the typical survival horror formula. My biggest fear now, though, with Silicon Knights busy suing Epic and making awful games (like Too Human), is that we'll never get to play Eternal Darkness 2.

XIII (2003)

XIII is one game that was clearly intended to have a sequel from the moment its ending was first conceived. It's a textbook cliffhanger, in which it's revealed that the man who's supposedly been helping you for the entire game is the one you were after all along.

Unfortunately, the comic book-style shooter ends there, and you're left with blue thumbs and blue balls, wondering what happens next. At least you can read the Belgian comic book series and actually find out, unlike some of the other cliffhangers on this list.